Fool for You
by urbasic
Summary: Everyone knows that Spencer and Toby have a friendship that is bordering platonic and romantic, and with the pressure from all those people, the two of them begin to consider the possibility of romance between them. However, the transition from best friends to lovers isn't always the easiest...


_Fool for You_

CHAPTER 1

"So, um, do you like, do you wanna go to homecoming with me?"

Spencer tried her hardest not to giggle.

"Grand way to ask, but sure," she responded.

"It's just homecoming, not prom," he reminded.

"Whatever," she shrugged. "But sure, I'll go with you, Andrew."

"Cool," Andrew commented with a grin. "See you in English, Spencer."

She raised her eyebrows, watching the muscular nerd walk away from her. She could tell that he had been harboring a crush on her for a bit. She wasn't exactly sure how she felt about him. He was a nice, smart guy overall, and they would always talk during English class. She had known him since middle school, and they were constantly comparing grades with one another. People had informed her that Andrew was planning on asking her to homecoming. Her senior year homecoming date was Andrew Campbell. She wasn't disappointed, though. She was going with a cute guy to homecoming. It was _way_ better than flying solo, like she had done in ninth and tenth grade.

In junior year, she went with a cute tennis player guy that worked at her country club named Alex Santiago. He was a pretty good guy, but their relationship was brief because he was scouted to some European boarding school for his tennis skills, and he took up the offer. She wasn't _that_ sad about it when he left, though. She didn't know the guy all that well.

"Did he ask you?" Hanna Marin asked, walking up to her brunette friend in the lunch line.

"What?" Spencer confusedly asked.

"You know what I mean! Everybody has already heard that Andrew has been planning to ask you to homecoming since the first month of school," Hanna responded, rolling her eyes. "I heard he's doing it today. So, did he do it yet?"

"Maybe..." Spencer mumbled.

"He did!" Hanna cried. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it literally _just_ happened like five minutes ago, and you surprised me in the lunch line," Spencer explained, rolling her eyes. "Besides, it's not that big of a deal. It's only a school dance. Homecoming, too. It isn't prom."

"It is a big deal," Hanna argued. "The boy likes you, and he wants to be your date. What if this means another relationship?"

"We can wait until homecoming is over to make that judgment. For now, we're still just friends, and we're going together. I said yes," Spencer informed her.

"I figured," Hanna said, shrugging her shoulders. "But, I did think you may have said no. Toby's probably not going to be happy that Andrew asked you to be his homecoming date."

Spencer's facial expression changed entirely to confusion.

"Toby?" she asked curiously. "Why would Toby care? Shouldn't he be happy for me?"

Hanna scoffed, "Sweetie, why would he be happy that you're taking another guy with you to a school dance? I can't wait to see the look on his face when he hears the news that you have another date!"

"Are you implying that he likes me?" Spencer asked, shocked.

"Well, _duh_ ," Hanna rolled her eyes.

"That's the first I'm hearing of it," Spencer said in disbelief. "Did he, um, did he say this?"

"He didn't have to say it," Hanna said.

"So it's some weird conclusion you came to yourself," she said, rolling her eyes. "I should have known."

"Are you crazy?" Hanna cried. "Everybody knows he likes you!"

"Hanna, that's not true. You assume every guy and girl that are close friends have some sort of dating relation," Spencer reminded. "He's just a friend-"

Cutting them off was Toby walking up to the lunch line, right behind them.

"Hey guys," he greeted with a smile. "What's up?"

"Spencer has a date to homecoming!" Hanna announced, waiting for his facial expression to change.

And it did. His bright smile turned into a frown. Hanna could see the lump forming in his throat. He did _not_ look happy.

"Somebody asked you?" he asked.

She nodded her head.

"Andrew asked me today," she responded.

"Oh, cool," he responded, scratching his head. "I still have to find a girl to ask."

Spencer glanced at Hanna, giving her a look that meant 'that basically proves he doesn't like me'. But Hanna was still confident that the blue-eyed guy had feelings for her. The two of them were too good of friends to be 'just friends'. He was pretty much her guy best friend, and that probably made her oblivious to the fact that he was harboring a crush on her. But Hanna saw it in his eyes- the way he looked at Spencer. She figured it out, and she was pretty sure that many other people had, too. Aria, Emily, and Alison had also agreed that he probably liked her, and there were probably many others who believed the same thing.

"Any girls in mind, Cavanaugh?" Hanna asked.

"Um, none that I can actually ask to homecoming," he chuckled.

"What is that supposed to mean? Is the girl you like... taken?" Hanna smirked, and glanced at Spencer again.

Toby furrowed his eyebrows.

"I didn't mean anything by it," he shrugged. "Whatever. I'm not dying for a date. School dances are honestly a little more fun when I go with friends instead of a date. Like at winter formal in ninth grade, all my date wanted to do was kiss. I thought we would actually talk, dance, eat and stuff..."

Spencer laughed.

"Freshman Toby had so much game that his girl couldn't stop trying to make out with him?"

He blushed.

"It wasn't like that. I mean, maybe it was, minus the game part," he said. "It was Shelby Meyers. She only asked me to formal because she knew I wouldn't say no. And, it was right after her boyfriend broke up with her. She just wanted to kiss me in front of him so he got jealous."

"Aw, poor kid got used," Hanna laughed. "But you really should look for a date. The rest of us have dates."

"Seriously?" Toby asked. "I thought it was only you and Spencer that had dates now!"

"Nope. I've got my Sean, of course. Noel Kahn asked Aria to be her date. And guess what? Ben Coogan asked Emily!" Hanna exclaimed. "She's liked him for so long, and he finally asked her to a dance. Ali is going with Derek Davis."

"You only mentioned the girls I know. What about Caleb?" Toby asked.

"Oh, yeah. He's going with Mona," Hanna responded.

"Mona!?" Toby cried. "I didn't even know he was interested in her!"

"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. But the fact is, they're going to homecoming together," the blonde teased. "You better find yourself a date quickly."

"Come on. Any girl would be _lucky_ to go with a great guy like you, Tobes," Spencer said with a sweet smile. "I'm positive you can find somebody to ask."

Before he could respond, a perky short girl ran up to him. Her name was Jess Moore, and she was actually a great girl. She was super smart (she had straight As, even in her AP classes), she was a varsity soccer player, and she was the vice president of the volunteering club at school. Not to mention, but she was also super popular.

"Hi, Toby," she greeted, batting her eyelashes.

"J-Jess, hey," he greeted back, scratching his head. "What's up?"

Spencer glanced at Hanna. They were both thinking it: was Jess Moore going to ask Toby to homecoming?

"You're not going with anybody to homecoming, are you?" Jess asked.

"Oh. Um, no," he responded.

"Perfect!" she exclaimed. "I mean, perfect for me. Would you be interested in going with me to homecoming?"

Both Hanna and Spencer's eyes widened. It happened. Jess asked him!

"Yeah, of course!" Toby responded excitedly. "I would love to."

"I'm so happy to hear you say that," Jess said, and then hopped up on her tip toes to place a short peck on Toby's cheek. "I'll text you the details about picking me up and stuff later. See you Saturday, cutie."

Toby was still in shock about how she asked him while Jess began walking away.

"Looks like you got yourself a date!" Hanna exclaimed.

"Lunch can wait. I have to go tell Caleb," Toby announced, and then jetted off from the lunch line.

"Aw, looks like your baby boy found himself somebody. Don't tell me you're upset now," Hanna teased. "Look at your face, Spence. You're totally upset that Jess asked him to homecoming! Why don't you just admit you like him? He'd be way happier if you had asked him."

"He doesn't like me... and I don't like him either!" Spencer defended. "We're just really good friends, Hanna. He's like, one of my best friends. You could even say he's like a brother to me."

"Fine, have fun with Andrew, even though I know you'd much rather be going with Toby," Hanna smirked.

"Stop playing matchmaker and focus on your own boyfriend," Spencer rolled her eyes.

"Everything is perfect with Sean," Hanna explained. "That's why I have so much free time to work on the relationships of other people."

They bought their lunches and headed back to their table. Spencer even purchased Toby his lunch for him, since he had left the line to go discuss his date to homecoming with Caleb. When they arrived at the table, only Caleb and Toby were there, talking about their dates.

"And she literally just came up to me and _asked_ me. Jess freaking Moore!" Toby exclaimed.

"Nice," Caleb grinned. "You've got Jess and I've got Mona. This is going to be a fun homecoming."

"When the hell were you planning on telling me that you're going with Mona Vanderwaal?" Toby asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Soon," Caleb shrugged. "But I guess you already know, because Big Mouth Hanna over here spilled!"

" _Sorry_ , I was just trying to motivate Toby to find himself a date. But it looks like his date found him instead," Hanna joked, and then seated herself down at the lunch table.

"Senior year, and we all have homecoming dates?" Caleb grinned. "This is awesome."

Hanna was about to speak, but then her phone lit up.

"Caleb!" Hanna exclaimed. "Sean just texted me. He said that he and Mona want us to come over to his table to hang."

"Seriously? Sorry guys, but if Mona's calling me, I'm gonna go," Caleb announced, and then he and Hanna left the table to go join Sean and Mona.

Which, of course, would leave Spencer and Toby alone at the lunch table.

"Hey, so, you ran off so quickly from the lunch line... I got you your lunch for you," Spencer explained.

He swallowed hard.

"You didn't have to do that," he smiled. "Thank you, Spence."

She felt warmer than usual when he called her 'Spence'.

"So, are you excited for homecoming, now that Jess Moore asked you?" Spencer asked.

"Yeah," he responded. "I didn't want to be the only one in our group that flew solo. It feels good to have somebody that actually wants to go with me. I don't ever wanna go through my freshman year winter formal incident again."

"Toby... do you think I'm making a mistake by going with Andrew?" Spencer asked.

She was curious now, ever since Hanna had said that Toby liked her. This was her way of finding out if Toby would stop her from going with another guy to the dance. If he did, wouldn't it be a pretty big sign that he had feelings for her?

"A mistake? No," he responded. "I mean, it depends. Only do things that make you happy, Spencer. It's not the end of the world if you go to stupid homecoming with a guy you don't really like that much, but if this isn't what you want, then don't make it happen."

Spencer smiled at him.

"And I'm not making a mistake by going with Jess, am I?" Toby asked.

"Hell no. The girl is way too amazing for you to say no to," Spencer responded. "Unless she's not the girl you really want to go with."

"No, no. She is. I couldn't have asked for a better girl to be my date than her," Toby said, but he knew he was lying right to himself.

The girl he really wanted to go with was sitting right next to him, but he knew it wasn't the best idea to say it out loud. Their friendship was in a really strong, good place, and that would definitely get messed up if he said he had feelings for her, and she didn't feel the same way.

"Then I hope everything goes well," she quietly said.

* * *

"Hanna had to tell me that Andrew asked you to homecoming! Why didn't you tell me sooner, Spence?" Aria asked, quickly walking up to her friend after school.

"You didn't come to the lunch table today. He asked me today at the beginning of lunch," Spencer explained. "Where the hell were you, anyway?"

"Noel wanted me to sit with him," Aria confessed, blushing.

"Ah, so things are getting pretty serious with Mister Kahn, aren't they?" Spencer joked.

"Shut up," Aria laughed. "I don't know what to think. I've had a small crush on Noel since like seventh grade, and during senior year, he _finally_ asks me to a dance? But don't think too much of it. It's been one of those crushes that isn't really there. Like, if he ever liked me back, I would have said yes to him at any given point. Like _that_ kind of crush. The major feelings went away when he started dating Prudence Finn during freshman year. It was a heartbreak moment for me, and I had to learn to get over him after two years of being crazy for him."

"But he asked you now. Why aren't you happier?" Spencer asked.

"I've dreamed of the moment Noel Kahn asks me out. I thought it would be this giant, insane, perfect moment that would feel so great. It's not exactly living up to the expectations," Aria sighed. "The way he asked me wasn't... grand."

"Keep an open mind. He'll probably make homecoming the best night ever for you. He has a way of keeping girls interested," she advised.

"Yeah, I'm hoping a Noel Kahn homecoming date is all it's said to be," Aria sighed. "And you? You're thrilled to be going with Andrew, right?"

"Eh, well, he asked me, and he's cute and stuff," Spencer shrugged.

"What? So, you don't really want to go with him?" Aria asked.

"Why do you not sound surprised?" Spencer chuckled. "And it's not that... I do want to go with him, just not _that_ much."

"I don't know, I've had this crazy idea you'd want to go with this other guy, but it's, um, it's no big deal..." Aria mumbled.

"Whoa, hold up. Another guy?" Spencer asked. "Who?"

"Don't shoot me, but I was thinking you'd want to go with," she began, biting her lip, "with... Toby."

"And that's not the first time I've heard that today," Spencer sighed. "What is it with me and Toby that makes people think we like each other?"

"I don't know, he's like so close to you! Haven't you heard that thing about how guys and girls that are best friends always end up falling for each other at some point?" Aria said. "It's no secret that he has something for you-"

"You're wrong. Jess Moore is his dream girl. He told me," Spencer explained. "Whatever you guys think is between us, it's not true. He told me that he couldn't think of a better girl to go to homecoming with than Jess."

"Spence, is there any chance at all that you could like him?" Aria asked. "I'm not like Hanna. I swear I won't go running my mouth about it. Have you ever thought about the possibility of you two getting together?"

"Okay, maybe I have thought about it, but, I don't know," she sighed. "We're _really_ good friends, and if we start dating or something, our whole friendship will be ruined. And not to mention, but I highly doubt he even likes me."

"Think about what you look for in a guy. Think of the perfect guy for you. Then, see if all of Toby's qualities apply to that," Aria advised. "What if he's the perfect guy for you?"

"You're kidding, right?" Spencer said, raising her eyebrows.

"No, I'm not!" Aria cried. "Is Toby what you want in a guy?"

"I don't know, I've never really checked off the boxes to see if he's my type," Spencer rolled her eyes.

"Then maybe now is the time to check those boxes off."

* * *

And for the rest of the day, Aria's words were running around Spencer's head. What if Toby really was the perfect guy for her? He seemed to have all the qualities of a good boyfriend for her, but she was planning on actually taking Aria's advice: perform a serious analysis of his traits. She knew what he was like as a friend, but now it was time to find out if he could potentially be the guy for her. She couldn't believe she was doing this while she was supposed to be focusing on her oh-so-amazing homecoming date Andrew Campbell...

 _Trait One: He's there for her when her when she needs him_

Spencer had surprised texted him to come over. An important part about whoever was her boyfriend was that they made themselves available to her when she needed them. So, she wanted to see if he would come over for her.

Within five minutes, he had driven his motorcycle and parked it outside of her house. He knocked on her door, smiling.

"Hey, Tobes," she greeted.

"Hi," he greeted back with a smile. "Are you okay?"

"Of course. I just wanted to see you," she told him, and then pulled him in for a hug.

 _Trait Two: Gives good hugs (and hopefully, kisses)_

She wouldn't be figuring out the kisses part today, but he certainly did give good hugs. She felt so at home when his arms were around her. Her face was snuggled into his chest. He chuckled.

"You seem... rather affectionate today," he grinned.

"Oh, I intended to be," she hummed.

 _Trait Three: Attractive_

She already knew he was an attractive guy. Of course she liked the way he looked, but to add to that, his body was killer. Normally, she didn't pay major attention, but now that she was thinking about it, he was extremely muscular. She could recall memories of when they went to the pool or the beach, and he took his shirt off. He had a great body. But just to refresh, she needed one more look- this time where she was paying enough attention to analyze in a romantic sort of way.

"Do you want to go hot tubbing?" Spencer asked suddenly.

"You wanna go in the hot tub on a random day in October?" Toby chuckled. "We have school tomorrow, and it's cold, and I didn't bring my swim trunks-"

"You don't need your swim trunks to get in the hot tub," she told him. "Just take your stupid shirt off."

He raised his eyebrows, and then chuckled.

"Fine, okay. But I'm not in a hot tub mood," he sighed, but began to lift his shirt up anyways.

All she needed was one glance, and she knew he was completely okay in the looks department. She licked her lips at the way he flexed while taking his shirt off.

"Put it back on. What was I thinking!? Hot tubbing in October _is_ a stupid idea," she said.

"Spencer, you're being weird," he pointed out, furrowing his eyebrows. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, of course," she answered. "I'm fine."

And that answered trait four for her. _Trait Four: Care about her_

Done and done. She hated how good he was. Every single trait was perfect.

 _Trait Five: Makes her laugh_

She didn't even need to assess that one. Whenever they hung out together, he could make her laugh so hard that tears came out of her eyes. He was one of the funniest people she knew, and he didn't even have to make everything a sexual joke like Hanna did. He had everything she wanted in a guy. Obviously, there were more things, but she didn't have to assess everything individually. The others were like: smell good (which he did), listen to her (which he always did), etc. He was literally the perfect guy for her, and she hated how he was. She didn't want him to be so right for her.

But she decided that she _needed_ to give their relationship a try. What if she told him she didn't want it to mess their friendship up, so they just did a test drive of a relationship? She was so sure that this thing between them could become something amazing. And the more she thought about it, the more she realized that those traits didn't just make him perfect for her. The way they got along did. The way he connected with her. They had a special connection, and that could make it so easy for a relationship to work between them.

"Toby, do you ever-" she began, but then took a pause to think of what to say. This was scary for her. She had to be the one to put her feelings out there? Usually, guys told her they liked her, or asked her out. She didn't have to do the work.

"Hmm?" he questioned curiously, leaning back on the couch more, trying to hear her better.

Before she could think of the right words to say, Toby's phone buzzed loudly.

"Who is it?" Spencer asked.

"It's just Jess," he answered. "I can respond to her in a sec. What were you going to say?"

"Nothing, never mind," Spencer blurted quickly, staring at the floor.

It hit her: Toby was going with Jess Moore, his perfect girl. He said there wasn't a better girl for him than Jess. Obviously, that meant she was the one he had been crushing on. He had explained how they met in his history class, and instantly became friends. That made way more sense. _Jess_ was the girl that he liked, and everybody had been misreading the way he felt about her. He just wanted to be friends.

"Spencer," he urged. "Come on, talk to me. You were about to ask me something."

"I know, but I changed my mind. It's pointless, really," she said, biting her lip.

"No, nothing you ever say it pointless," he continued to urge.

"Okay, um, I was going to ask if you ever wonder what life is going to be like after high school," she lied, scratching her head.

"Really?" he asked in disbelief. "That's what you were going to ask me?"

"Yeah," she lied again.

"Well, I mean, I guess I do. But I'd rather cross that bridge when it comes," Toby answered. "For now, I'm going to live my life in the moment, enjoy the people I'm living around. And that includes you. What's life if you don't try and enjoy it? I'm just making the most of what I have now."

Spencer smiled.

"You should go home," she told him.

"You're seriously kicking me out?" he chuckled. "Come on, Spence."

"I'm not kicking you out. I just think it's time for you to leave my house," Spencer re-worded, but then she realized it was exactly that. "Oh... yeah, you could say I'm kicking you out. It's time for me to study. I have an AP biology quiz tomorrow, and I shouldn't have wasted my time hanging around. I was just looking for a distraction to keep me from it, but now I realized how stupid that is. Goodbye, Toby. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright then. Sorry to distract you," he laughed. "See you tomorrow, Spencer."

"Bye," she said as Toby walked out her door.

She shut the door quickly, and then leaned against it, taking a deep breath.

She wished Hanna and Aria hadn't told her he could have feelings for her, because now all she could think about was that. Did Toby really have feelings for _her_?


End file.
